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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Pat Flanagan & Colin Brennan & John Patrick Kierans

Truck involved in Essex 39 body tragedy 'owned by Irish woman' claims Bulgarian Foreign Ministry

The truck at the centre of the container deaths tragedy in Essex is owned by an Irish woman and registered in Bulgaria, it has been claimed.

The Bulgarian Embassy in London has said it got information about the registration from British police.

"The Scania truck was registered in the city of Varna under the name of a company owned by an Irish citizen," they said.

Detectives believe the truck entered the UK three days ago via Holyhead in north Wales.

Gardaí believe the container came in from the continent to the UK.

Speaking in the Dáil, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "The information that we have so far this morning is very sketchy, but there are some reports that the truck may have passed through Ireland at some point so obviously we're going to need to get more information and carry out any necessary investigations which may be required."

Garda immigration officers at Dublin Port, which is thought to have been used by the lorry in which 39 bodies have been found on an industrial estate in Essex (PA)
(Sky News)

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The final journey of the lorry at the centre of the Essex murder investigation was captured on CCTV.

The footage shows the vehicle arriving at the industrial estate where it was found just half an hour later with 39 dead bodies inside.

The red and white Scovia can be seen at 1.10am driving along the road next to the industrial estate where it was found 30 minutes later.

CCTV shows the lorry traveling along the small road in the dark with the lights switched on, according to operations manager Tom at Thurrock Engineering.

The driver cannot be seen behind the wheel of the left hand drive in the footage.

The final journey of the lorry was captured on CCTV (Supplied)
The lorry was captured on video at 1.13am (Supplied)
The driver is not viewable in the footage (Supplied)

Paramedics rushed to the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays at 1.40am this morning.

When they arrived they found the bodies of 39 people - 38 adults and one teenager - in the back of the vehicle.

Emergency services are yet to identify any of the bodies.

The horrific find has sparked one of the biggest murder investigations in British history - and was described by Essex Police as an "absolute tragedy".

Half an hour after the footage the bodies were found (Supplied)
The lorry seems to have been hastily left in Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays (PA)

Detectives believe the vehicle entered the UK three days ago via Holyhead in Wales.

A 25-year-old lorry driver from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sana Mirza, manager of Big Blue Squirrel self storage, captured the lorry driving past their venue in Motherwell Way at 01.13am - less than half an hour before police discovered the lorry round the corner on Eastern Avenue.

She said: “It makes me a bit feel sick watching that footage knowing those people were on board.

The bodies were found in the lorry early this morning (SplashNews.com)
Forensic investigators are combing the industrial estate for clues (Getty Images)

“It’s shocking to know that someone drove past with a lorry load of bodies on there.

“We are shocked and disturbed by it because it’s happened on our doorstep. It isn’t just one person it’s 39.

“All I have been thinking about is the last person who was alive on there and what they must have been thinking.”

Road Haulage Association chief executive Richard Burnett container appeared to be a refrigerated unit and described conditions for anyone inside as "absolutely horrendous".

Temperatures in such units can be as low as -25C if frozen products are being transported, causing humans to "lose their lives pretty quickly", he said.

He went on: "It's going to be dark. If the fridge is running it's going to be incredibly cold.

"The only place to go to the toilet is on board the back of the trailer. You can imagine if they've been in there for days then there will be faeces, there will be urine."

A forensic tent has been set up alongside a huge white lorry, which has a red cab at the front.

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